by C. L. Coffey
We were still in our underground prison, wet and sheltering on our angel-made island. I looked down, pulling my top up. There was a wound – a stab wound – and while there was blood and it was in need of stitches, it wasn’t bleeding freely. It still hurt, don’t get me wrong, but I felt like I could move… for a while at least. “We cleaned it as best we could with the little water we have,” Veronica offered.
“Where did the water come from?” I asked, confused. Beelzebub came here to kill me, but gave them water? That didn’t make sense.
Veronica and Garret shared a look. After Garret shrugged at her, Veronica sighed. “We found it under you. We think the nephilim left it. We thought it was a trick at first.”
“He didn’t do a good job of killing you,” Garret added.
“I don’t think he meant to,” I muttered, my focus going to the bloody dagger which lay beside me. I picked it up, careful to avoid the blood, surprised when it didn’t burn me like I expected. I shuffled over to the water, hissing as I dunked it in, and washed the blood off. Clean, I wiped the water from it with my jeans. I turned it over in my hands. It felt familiar. When it extended its length, nearly causing me to stab myself in the arm, I knew it was mine – the second blade Gabriel had given me.
“That’s an angelic weapon!” Veronica exclaimed. “What was the nephilim doing with it?”
I stared at the blade – it had been scratched with something so the shine was gone, the dullness giving the effect that it was made of something else. Someone had also gone to the trouble to remove the cross guard to disguise its appearance. “I think he was returning it,” I told her, turning it over in my hands. My eyes grew wide with hope. There was something else he had given us – a way out!
“What are you doing?” Eugene asked as I shrank the blade back down.
“Hoping for a miracle,” I responded. Carefully, I slid the blade between my wrist and the cuff there. The pain was blinding, but I gritted my teeth, blinked back the tears, and willed the dagger into its sword form. The cuff snapped in two, falling into my lap. I turned my attention to my other arm. I broke free of the other cuff, before ensuring the others were all released.
The relief was instant and I couldn’t stop myself from bursting into tears. It wasn’t just the constant feeling of being branded disappearing, but an overall feeling of wellness flooding in.
I stood, eager to get out of this hole. The giddy feeling that accompanied losing the shackles disappeared when I discovered it hadn’t flicked the switch to my faster healing abilities. Everything else still hurt, and I was still in need of some food and water to help ease the guilt. I also didn’t have any strength. It was almost ironic that when I was trying to earn my wings I had been functioning fine without it because now, I missed it. Now I wasn’t even sure I had enough emotional strength in me to get through the door and face whatever was out there.
That was until Eugene tried to stand. He let out a whimper and crumpled to the floor. “You should go without me.”
“We can’t leave you here,” I told him. “It will be safer to stick together.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he winced. I could see that – he was struggling to keep himself sitting – but we still couldn’t leave him behind. He was the one who needed to be out of here the most.
“I’ll stay with him,” Veronica volunteered. “I’m mobile. I can still fight if needed. Take Garret with you and watch each other’s backs. Come back with help.”
“I still don’t like it,” I said, shaking my head. I had a gnawing feeling in the pit of my gut that said something bad would happen if we split up.
“Veronica’s right,” Garret spoke up. He looked exhausted, like the rest of us, but for the first time, there was no contempt when he addressed me. “They will have a better chance staying here. They can barricade themselves in after we leave. That should help.”
I chewed at the inside of my mouth, and then shrugged. I didn’t like it, but we didn’t have any other options. “Okay,” I conceded. I walked over to the door, touching it gingerly, unsure if it too was covered in something. When it didn’t zap or burn me, I pressed my ear against it. Certain there was no one nearby, I wedged my sword between the door and the frame and prized it open. It made a loud crack as the lock gave way and we froze, waiting.
“I don’t think anyone heard it,” Garret whispered. He pulled the door open and poked his head out. “It’s clear.”
I turned back to Veronica. “We’re going to be right back.”
“I know,” she agreed.
Making sure the grip on my sword was firm, I stepped into the passage. As soon as Garret was out, the door was shut behind us. I could hear scuffling behind it, but we didn’t linger, trusting that they would get themselves secure without us. We were in a vulnerable position and we couldn’t stay here.
Shutting the door also meant we lost the light. The little light that had been provided from the room was enough to see that this tunnel had been crudely dug out. Uneven steps sloped upwards. With my sword in my dominant hand, I started to carefully ascend the steps. The steps, like everything else, were made of the mud they’d been dug from, and were both slippery and soft beneath my bare feet. With every other step, the soles of my feet crunched down on a sharp piece of rock and I had to fight not to cry out. Behind me, Garret was also struggling, as he often inhaled in pain.
The steps seemed to go on for ages. We were quite far below the ground and the slope of the tunnel was steep, stretching up. It was still pitch black and the only way I knew we had hit the top was because my head smacked into something solid. I froze up, hoping that no one was above to hear the thud.
“I can’t hear anything,” Garret whispered after a time.
The thing covering the tunnel was heavy and wet. With Garret unable to help me, I had to double over and use my back, slowly moving the board to the side. Doing so let daylight stream into the tunnel. It wasn’t particularly bright, but as our eyes had adjusted to pitch black, the sudden light had us squinting, trying to work out what we were walking into.
Using my free hand to shield my eyes, I found we were in a cemetery as we’d suspected. More specifically, we were in a very old tomb, the casket that had once resided there was missing. “But this is holy ground,” I muttered.
“They must have done something to break that holiness,” Garret said, coming out behind me. “It’s an old cemetery and won’t have been high on the list to maintain the sigil surrounding it: I doubt anyone would have even thought to protect it.”
“It’s probably the last place anyone would expect to find the Fallen, I guess,” I agreed. “But it doesn’t explain how they did it.”
“They probably sent your nephilim friend in. Nephilim aren’t as affected by a sigil as the Fallen are.”
I shot Garret a glare. “That nephilim you keep referring to is the same one who has helped us escape.”
Garret harrumphed but shut up. I made my way to the doorway – the floor was littered with jagged rubble from whatever had been in there previously. This time, I could hear something behind the door: rain. I turned to Garret. “If someone is out there, you leave them to me. It doesn’t matter how many there are, you get out of there. Get out and get to the convent. I’m hoping whatever they did to desecrate the sanctity of this place stops at the gate.”
Garret nodded. For a brief moment, something flashed through his eyes. It looked like respect. “Good luck.”
It was going to take a lot more than luck.
“Let’s do this,” I hissed, pushing the mausoleum’s door open. We were greeted by rain, lashing down at us. It was daytime, but the clouds had brought a level of darkness with them. Not enough to provide a decent level of cover. We got out of the mausoleum, walking over gravel that, even with bare feet, still crunched. As I peered around the corner of the tomb, I found we weren’t the only ones here. In the center of the row, arguing, were Beelzebub and Ty.
Beelzebub looked elegant as ever, wearing a l
ong dark coat, while the rest of him was sheltered by the black umbrella. In the setting of the cemetery, he could easily be here for a funeral. Much as I wanted it to be his own, I knew that right now, neither of us stood a chance against him. Thankfully, his back was to us as he yelled at Ty. Ty was standing with his shoulders hunched against the rain, the umbrella not being used to shelter him. I only caught snippets of the conversation… that Ty was a disappointment and he was the reason all Beelzebub’s establishments had been raided. Although I didn’t like Ty being at the brunt of his wrath, knowing that the raids had angered Beelzebub did please me.
I caught when Ty spotted us, quickly ducking his head and apologizing to his father. I paused, half expecting him to expose us, but he didn’t. Taking advantage, I turned to Garret, pointing at him, then behind him. When he nodded, I pointed at myself, and then in another direction. He frowned, but nodded again. I would have preferred to stick together, but I knew if Beelzebub spotted us, Garret would have more of a chance at getting help.
I resisted the urge to bolt, instead continuing to watch Beelzebub berate his son. Behind me, Garret started to make his way as light-footed as he could over the gravel. Thankfully, the argument, combined with the rain, seemed to drown out his footsteps.
I waited until Garret was out of sight before I moved, backing away from Beelzebub and taking off away from the both of them. I nearly made it through the gates when there was an explosion from the direction Garret had run in. The blast sent stone and dust showering down around me and I tripped, crashing down on my knees.
Garret!
I pushed back the sob and forced myself upright. Veronica and Eugene were still relying on me. I continued towards the gate, it just in my reach, when someone stepped out in front of me…
Lucifer.
Surrounded by an entourage of bodyguards I was willing to bet everything I owned on being fallen angels, Lucifer was wearing a similar outfit to what he had been in earlier. Only this time, he was wearing a jacket. The casual bedhead look had been ruined by the water which rained down around us, but even soaking wet, the guy was still attractive: it was like he was in a music video and the entourage were his backup dancers. It was a deadly attraction and I wasn’t fooled.
Lucifer looked impatient, folding his arms and rolling his eyes. “Of course: I can’t rely on Beez to do a job properly,” he sighed. “Well, babes, you surprised me. I’ll give you that. I wasn’t expecting you to be able to get out of your tomb.”
“You’re not the first person to underestimate me,” I shrugged, trying to work out my next move. There were four of them in total. I was injured and barefoot, so running away wasn’t going to work. I wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to hide and with four of them, it would be the quickest game of hide and seek in history.
“Clearly, I shouldn’t send others to do my dirty work.” Despite the rain, he shrugged his jacket off, handing it over to one of his bodyguards. He caught my expression and shrugged. “It’s expensive. Sue me.” From behind, he pulled out a sword – I recognized it straight away as being the one that had once hung over the fireplace in the convent’s armory. “Looks like I’ll have to kill you like I did Garret.” He smiled, as I closed my eyes with a grimace. “That was pretty satisfying.” Luke nodded at his security team and if I had been contemplating making a run for it, I had missed my opportunity as they surrounded me.
Thankfully, I hadn’t been contemplating running. Not away, anyway.
With his men spread thin, I did what appeared to be the last thing Luke was expecting. I charged at him, ducking as he swung his sword, continuing past him to the gates. I barely got through them when something wrapped around my hair and yanked me backwards. I screamed in pain as I fell to the ground, my sword sent skittering to the side.
The scream acted as an alarm. I rolled out of the way of sword that was aimed at my head, narrowly avoiding it. Then Beelzebub and Ty appeared. “She’s mine!” Lucifer bellowed, the two of them staying on the periphery with the security.
I scrambled for my own sword, my hands not quite grasping it when Ty suddenly yelled my name. I looked, as did Lucifer, as Ty produced my second sword – the one blackened by Lilah’s blood. He threw it at me. As his arm went up, Beelzebub’s seemed to move just as fast, his own sword appearing. As I reached up and miraculously managed to catch it, Beelzebub’s arm went down, slicing straight through Ty’s wrist.
I didn’t have time to register anything as the cavalry arrived. In front of me was Michael, already engaging in a sword fight with Lucifer. Behind two of the security guards, Gabriel appeared, taking them on. Raphael was on Beelzebub before Ty’s arm had hit the ground. Paddy by his side, readying to take out Ty. “Paddy, NO!” I screamed, stopping her at the last moment.
The next thing I knew, Cupid and Joshua were by my side, trying to pull me out of the way of the remaining security guard who was making a beeline for me. “We need to get out of here, darlin’,” Joshua cried, trying to get me to the gates.
I pulled free, shaking my head. “Not a chance. Veronica and Eugene are here, beneath one of the tombs. We need to get them out of here. This rain will be making things…” I frowned as I suddenly started to feel better – stronger. “Wait! What’s happening here?”
“Michael’s located the angels around the cemetery. They’re doing something to make it holy,” Joshua hurried to explain. He was still trying to pull me to the gates.
I jerked away. “Joshua, I am going nowhere until I know Lucifer and Beelzebub are dead.”
“Cupid?” Joshua asked, seemingly needing his approval.
Cupid grunted with effort as he swung at the Fallen. I’d only ever seen him with his bow, but he was just as ferocious with the sword. “Get out of the way, now!”
I didn’t hesitate. Making sure I had hold of both swords, Joshua and I ran away from Cupid. I made a beeline to where Ty was curled up on the ground, just as there was an explosion behind us. I flew forward, slamming into the side of a sun-bleached mausoleum. I wasn’t ready for it, the air rushing from my lungs as I slid down the wall. I lay there, half-watching the fighting, half-blinking the rain from my eyes, until Cupid hurried over. “Sorry, I didn’t want to give too much notice in case he worked out my move.”
I coughed, accepting his hand as he helped me up. “You need to head to that tomb,” I instructed him, pointing to the mausoleum Garret and I had escaped from. “Veronica and Eugene are in there. Eugene’s not in a good way.”
“Paddy!” Cupid called. The formidable saint backed away from Beelzebub, leaving Raphael to tackle him on his own. “I need your help.” He took off running to the tomb I had pointed out, Paddy right behind him.
I gathered up my swords. Using one, I cut two thin slits in the fabric of my jeans on the side of my thigh, and then poked the damaged weapon through, creating a makeshift sheath. The other sword was staying out. We were taking the advantage – only Michael and Raphael remained, fighting Lucifer and Beelzebub. But I wasn’t taking any chances.
I dropped down beside Joshua. He was busy trying to create a tourniquet around Ty’s arm to stem the bleeding as he held it in the air. He needed to get out of here, and he needed to be gone ten minutes ago. “Cupid?”
There was no response, and then he was in front of me. “What’s the matter?”
“He’s not going to make it. He needs medical attention too.” I gestured to Ty and the pooling of blood around him. “Can you take him and Eugene-?”
“Eugene and Veronica are already with Henry,” he assured me. “I’ll take him to Lily.” It took me a moment to remember who Lily was – another Angel of Death who was based in a hospital, doubling as a doctor. With what looked like no effort at all, Cupid scooped Ty up in his arms, taking care with his missing hand, and disappeared.
“We should really get out of here, darlin’,” Joshua urged me. “I think these guys can handle it now: it’s your turn to see a doctor.”
“Lucifer and Beelzebub have hurt you, my frien
ds, and me,” I growled, shaking my head. “I am not leaving here until I know they’re dead.”
“Then we’re moving closer to the exit in case we need to get out of here,” Joshua said. He took my free hand in his, leading me away from Raphael and Beelzebub, back towards the exit.
I got halfway there when Paddy yelled Raphael’s name. I turned, watching as she ran over slamming into Beelzebub and sending him spinning to the ground, gravel and water flying around him. Raphael was on the ground, still alive, but wounded. “Stay here,” I growled at Joshua. Ignoring his protests, I charged over. I wasn’t at Paddy’s skill level, but with me helping as a distraction, I was praying she would be able to get a decent blow in and finally defeat Beelzebub.
“Oh, it’s you!” Beelzebub groaned as I swooped in, blocking a blow meant for Paddy’s weak side. “You should be dead.”
I grunted, twirling to avoid a strike as Beelzebub blocked a blow from Paddy. The ninja saint was fast, moving around Beelzebub’s other side, but the fallen angel was equally, if not more, skilled than her. Even with us both attacking him at the same time, Beelzebub was able to keep up with us both.
Then, after parrying an attack from me, he feigned an attack at Paddy. She stepped back. Instead of following her like I expected, Beelzebub spun so he could strike at me with his foot. I didn’t see his move until it was too late and I went down. There was a blur of movement as he returned his attention to Paddy. She dropped to the ground, stumbling on loose stones beneath her feet. “Look out!” I cried as Beelzebub stabbed, the blade aimed for her neck. She rolled at the last minute, recovering quickly. A split second later, Beelzebub’s head was no longer attached to his body.
Without taking a minute to catch her breath, she was at Raphael’s side, helping him to his feet. He had a slash to his torso. It didn’t look life threatening, but it was still severe enough that he needed our help. I ran over, ducking under his other shoulder to help support him with Paddy. “That’s my girl,” he beamed at her, accepting the help without question. “We need to move before he goes boom.”